Of Mice and Men
by Kitten The Kokeshi Doll
Summary: The gang have to train mice to run through a maze. But will the competition destroy friendships? Especially when the boys are so blatantly cheating.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Ya'll have to read and see**

_Of mice and men_

"Aww." Zoey cooed walking into the science class. On the desk was a cage full of mice. Brightly coloured ones, dull ones, little ones, shy ones, tough ones. They were all so cute. "Hello." She said gently, sticking her finger through the bars and stroking a blonde mouse.  
"Please be for dissection." Chase shivered, speaking to himself. Zoey punched his shoulder. "Ouch!" It was common knowledge Chase hated small cute creatures like hamsters, mice, gerbilsand raccoons. "Ok ok don't hit."  
"No Mr Matthews, they're NOT for dissection! These... are your science project." Quinn's eyes widened in anticipation, she had much longed to show off her scientific expertise in the classroom.  
"We can'texperiment on them!" Nicole wailed. "They're cute!"  
"Yeah yeah, cute til someone looses a finger." Chase murmered.  
"Chase shut up." Zoey said. Chase sighed and nodded.

"No. By experiment Nicole I didn't mean hurt. Over the next month these mice are to be trained to run through a maze. The mouse that completes the most complicated maze will be the winning team of 3."Nicole grabbed Zoey's arm automatically. Lola and Dana looked at them hopefully. Since Dana's return there had been a lot of competitive behaviour between she and Lola. Nicole and Zoey looked totally lost.  
"Ok, we'll make this fair. Eenie Meenie Miney Mo... Dana you're with us. Lola you go with Quinn and Mark." Zoey said trying to do what was best.  
"Meenie is right." Lolasaid, flouncing off to be withQuinn and Mark who did not look happy at the entrant of a third member of their team. Dana smiled and joined her group.

"Oooh, can we pick the cuteblonde mouse?" Nicole begged. "Please please plllllleeeeeaaaaasssse Zoey." She whined.  
"Should we let her pick the cute blonde mouse?" Zoey asked repeating Nicole's hyper tone on the words 'cute blonde mouse'  
"We'll let her pick the cute blonde mouse." Dana said in the same style. She and Nicole had surprisingly been a LOT more compatible, Dana felt if she fell out with Lola and Nicole then she would lose contact with all her friends, and was having to be on her best behaviour. Nicole squeaked loudly. She hurried over to the big cage and pushed Logan to one side.  
"Typical girls." He rolled his eyes. "To go all googly eyed over an animal that lives in something the size of a shoe box, and poops or sleeps all day."  
"Shut up Logan." Zoey said as Nicole picked out the cuteblonde mouse.  
"Boy or girl?" She asked her. Nicole looked hesitant then lifted the small mouse by it's tail. It squeaked indignantly.  
"Girl... I think."  
"S'kinda hard to tell with mice." Dana agreed.

Logan stuck his hand in and grabbed a blond mouse.  
"Stop struggling you stupid... ouch. Ugh!" He stuck it in the smaller cage. "You bite me again and I SWEAR I'm selling to the Disney corperation." He glared at the mouse. It didn't look at though it cared, and walked into it's bedding. Chase sighed.  
"Do I HAVE to do this project?" He pleaded.  
"Yes Chase. Now, be gone with you." She dismissed them.

* * *

"She needs a name." Nicole said at dinner.  
"Can you get that thing off the table?" Chase complained at the cage near his food. The girls ignored him.  
"Ours is called J209." Said Quinn conversationally.  
"She didn't wanna get attached." Lola explained as though she thought Quinn was slightly kooky.  
"Hm..." Zoey looked thoughtful. "I like that."  
"Hey get your own mouse name." Lola snapped, still aggrivated at the situation.  
"Not that I meant... Jaye..." Zoey asked looking at Dana.  
"Seconded." Dana said hurriedly. She was happy Zoey named it and not Nicole, who would probably name it Mrs Fluffytailkins or some other obscure girly name.  
"Thirded. Settled. You are now Jaye." Nicole said to the mouse.  
"Yeah? Well Jaye can go live in your room. Where she's SUPPOSED TO." Chase suggested strongly. Zoey sighed. 

"Sorry Chase. We'll take her up to our dorm. It's not fair on you to keep her here." She stood up, kissed Chase on the cheek gently as an apology then picked up the cage and left. Chase touched his cheek softly, he looked impressed.  
"Aww, Chase's got a girlfriend." Logan sang. Dana and Nicole giggled and disappeared off after Zoey. Lola pouted, she looked very fed up.  
"So, is ours a guy or a girl?" Michael asked curiously. Chase shook his head.  
"I'm not touching that thing." He argued  
"Me neither. It bit me." Logan huffed, offended at the thought of a mouse biting his precious skin.  
"You guys are such babies." Lola scowled. "Come on Quinn, we have a mouse to train."

"Like you're gonna beat us." Scoffed Logan.  
"I'd like to see you train a mouse." Quinn said airily. "You can't even bring yourself to touch it."  
"Maybe our mouse is supermouse and she's already trained." Chase suggested hopefully. "That way we won't have to touch it."  
"Yeah well, one way or another, we're gonna win." Logan said decisively, having made up his mind.  
"Oh it's on Reese." Lola challenged. He glared at her, she glared back, both pairs of chocolate coloured eyes nowfurious with their competitive spirirt. After an overlong glaring contest Lola turned on her heel, flicked her brightly coloured hair over her shoulder and stalked off, with Quinn in toe.

A/n: So whatta ya think? Not much happened this chapter I know but it gets better next time. The boys start playing dirty.


	2. CRUNCH

A/n: Second chapter being written. The chapter makes me really sad so...

Chapter 2: The noise

"It's not fair." Logan said prodding the mouse. Everyone in team Logan and team Zoey (Logan and Nicole had opted for those names, Logan demanding and Zoey blushing awkwardly) was sat on the girls dorm floor. "She's too stupid, she won't learn." he growled prodding the small blonde mouse in it's cage.  
"What makes you think it's a she?" Zoey queried.  
"Because it's blonde and stupid like half the girls at our school." He snickered. Dana threw a handful of mouse food at him. He panicked and started brushing it out of his hair. "You're dead Cruz."  
"Come get me." She said lazily, not even bothering to stands for the Chase. Logan stood up, angry at having hair hair invested by peanuts and sunflower seeds. He grabbed their mouse's water bottle and unscrewed the top. He crossed to her and balanced it above her head.  
"You wouldn't dare." She said scathingly.  
"Gimme one good reason." He said playfully.  
"I'm hot?" She suggested, hoping not to be drenched. He looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding.  
"Yeah you are, you should cool down." He emptied the water bottle over her head. She screamed loudly, and he laughed. The water had flattened her usually bouncy curls and her mascara ran down her cheeks.

"LOGAN!" She screamed. She leapt to her feet and hurried after him as he hightailed it out of the room.  
"Well, and then there were four." Zoey said staring after her friends.  
"Three," Michael corrected angrily, pointing at Chase who was sat a few feet away. "My team are lousy we'll never win." He scowled.  
"Michael you don't even know the sex of your mouse, and ours has already completed half it's training!" Nicole snapped. Michael rolled his eyes and prodded his mouse, which looked incredibly irritated at the disturbance.  
"Show offs." Michael complained as Jaye run up Zoey's sleeve and sat on her shoulder. She giggled and approached Chase, who was sat on his own reading. He took one look at her and leapt up.  
"WHAT?" She asked panicked.  
"Keep that thing away from me!" He said, she could see it in his face he was terrified. She handed her mouse to Nicole before returning to him.

"You REALLY hate mice don't you?"  
"Yes." He muttered pretending to read his book.  
"Why?" She questioned sitting beside him and drawing her knees up to her chest. She lay her head on her arms and looked at him.  
"I just hate small furry animals. They creep me out. Seriously... if I had my way anything smaller than a kitten would be..." He raised his hand like a gun and made a firing noise.  
"Wow that's harsh." She breathed unable to imagine Chase being so nasty. He sighed.  
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm going to bed."

-------------------------------------------

"I will NOT lose to girls!" Logan fumed storming around his room.  
"Aww give it up man. This mouse is LAME."  
"We need... a plan." Logan said rubbing his temples. "I will NOT let Zoey Brooks or Lola Martinez win another..." He froze, lightning having just metaphorically struck him.  
"Win another what?"  
"Y'know what... nevermind." He smiled. He wasn't going to have to teach the stupid mouse afterall. He had a ready made plan. It was so simple and he was mentally hating himself for not thinking of it sooner. "I'm a genius!" He cackled, then pulled their mouse from the cage by it's tail. "The girls are at dinner right?"  
"Yeah but..."  
"See ya soon." Logan smirked then hurried from the room.

He was pleased he and Zoey had picked the same colour mouse. Knowing the door was unlocked, because Nicole was now the one constantly forgetting to bring her key, he slipped in.  
"Will you..." He started before being bit. "Ouch!" He growled at his mouse as he took Jaye from her cage. He heard the doorhandle tinker and panicky he slipped both mice into a cardboard box and put it up his shirt. Dana walked in.  
"Logan?"  
"Hey..." He said trying not to look too guilty  
"Why are you here?" She asked taking a dorito chip from the open bag by Zoey's bed.  
"Oh uhm..." He blushed. "Ok you CAN'T tell Zoey..."  
"I won't." She said smiling gently. "Tell me." He looked awkward and blushed.  
"I KNOW it's wrong but... I was looking for her diary... NOT FOR ME! For Chase..." Dana had at first looked angry but as soion as she hard 'for Chase' she understood.  
"Save it. She likes him. Bye Logan." Logan nodded.  
"Thanks." He quickly scurried from the room, hoping Dana hadn't noticed the empty cage.

* * *

"I lost one of the mice..." Logan said scanning the room with an awkward sigh.  
"Which one?" Michael said. He was not too happy about having become involved in Logan's swap 'em scheme.  
"I don't know... just one of them. Help me find it?"  
"Awwww man. Why do I always gotta help out when your schemes go wrong?"

* * *

"NICOLE!" Zoey screamed hitting her friend over the head with a magazine  
"I'M SORRY OK!"  
"YOU FREAKIN MORON!" Dana squawked.  
"Okay stop yelling at her... she's sorry." Lola said rubbing Nicole's shoulder. When the girls had gone to room 101 they had found the cage door slightly ajar, something Nicole was prone to doing.  
"She's so tiny!" Nicole cried rubbing her eyes.

"Knock knock." Said Chase bobbing his head round the door. "Hey... why all the tears?" He asked Nicole.  
"Nicole lost Jaye." Zoey said.  
"Oh..." Chase shrugged. "Logan wanted to know if you guys felt like playing fuseball with me and Michael... he didn't wanna play though... he's weird." Chase muttered.  
"No we have to look for Jaye." Dana said distractedly.  
"Why... just ask the teacher for a new one."  
"Chase!" Zoey snapped.  
"I'm sorry but it's a mouse. Get over it." Chase snapped. He was not normally this horrid but he could not see the reason behind their madness.  
"You never liked her!" Dana hissed suddenly ready to fight. "I bet you sabotaged us. THAT'S why Logan was in here earlier."  
"WHAT?" He said in shock. "I didn't touch the thing!" He breathed.

"Look can we all stop the fighting." Lola said trying to calm everyone  
"No! She's accusing me of... of... of what exactly?"  
"Oh come on, we all KNOW Chase hated her." Zoey snapped getting on her hands and knees looking under the bed. "But he wouldn't mousenap her... or would you!"  
"I'm your FRIEND. You know what if you all think that about me then y'know... I hope your little mouse dies!" He growled. He didn't mean it. He was so beyond mad, he knew the girls were upset but to accuse him of all that.  
"Chase, take that back." Zoey said.  
"No." He turned towards the door and stomped half way there. "I hope a cat gets it!" he continued to stomp.  
"CHASE!" Zoey said shocked that he'd be like this.  
"What!"  
"Please... I know you don't mean this. We're sorry ok." Zoey said gently, using her soft eyes. It was at this point Chase made a realisation.  
"No. The eyes don't work on me anymore." He turned. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

CRUNCH

The sickening crunch echoed and Chase closed his eyes, horrified at the noise.  
"MURDERER!" Screamed Nicole.  
"Oh my god..." Breathed Zoey. "Oh my god..."  
"Zoey I am... I didn't... I wasn't... Oh god..." Nicole started to cry, Dana hung her head, Zoey just stared in horror at the small red patch issuing from under Chase's sneaker. Chase hung his head, for all he had said he had not meant for this. For a long time there was nothing but the girls crying.  
"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!" Dana howled angrily.  
"I didn't!" He said. "I swear!" Chase started slowly to lift his sneaker but upon seeing the red mush Zoey screamed so piercingly he left it down.  
"DON'T!"  
"Ok..." He said gently to his friend. "You uhm... leave the room... I'll clean up." The girls moved past Chase and left. Standing outside the door.

"Think he DID mean to do that?" Lola asked, upset for her friends.  
"No... I mean... he didn't like her but... he was mad." Zoey said wanting desperately to believe Chase hadn't done that on purpose.  
"I don't know... he said he wanted her dead..." Dana said.

Chase lifted his foot slowly, staring at the mess. For a few moment he just stared, then he started to laugh. It was a soft chuckle at first, but as it sank in he started to laugh hysterically.

Outside the girls could hear it. Zoey looked mortified.  
"Oh my god." She whispered, unable to believe her ears.  
"He... did it on purpose..." Nicole said.  
"He's LAUGHING!" Dana breathed. Chase Matthews. Sweet, and innocent... was a mouse murderer?  
"Come on I'm scared." Lola said leading the gang quickly away from the door.

A/n: Looks bad huh?


End file.
